Appearance - Dark brown colour with a large size frothy light brown head. I can't make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for around 5 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Malts, chocolate, vanilla, coffee

Taste & Mouth - There is a below average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, chocolate, and vanilla. There is also a bit of a roasted peanut flavour, some dark fruits, coffee, and some smokey notes.

Overall - A nice blend of a variety of flavours. It's a very satisfying and it goes down fast, considering the ABV. Although the lcbo tag on the bottle lists it at about 8%. A little pricey, but worth picking up a bottle to try. I'll get a few more bottles.

Its big black body is topped with an inch of wispy tan head. Alcohol film along with plenty of dots of lace stick to the glass after a few swirls.

Heaps of sweet dark chocolate, fudge, and cake icing define the nose. This makes me think of Southern Tier's Choklat. A faint cloud of smoke lies on the outskirts of this dessert-like stout. Its overall impression is rich and sweet, without a sign of booze.

Its chocolate character is more rough around the edges. Dark chocolate, cocoa, and chocolate cake are more fitting descriptors. There's a roasty coffee undertone that meshes with its sweet chocolate qualities, disjointing them as it asserts itself. A peaty smokiness is detectable but faint; pinching the back of the palate. The sweet chocolaty essence drowns out its influence.

After my first sip I thought there's no way this clocks in at 10.4%. And even after reading it's actual ABV of 8.4% (thanks to the LCBO) I still find it hard to believe its strength. It has plenty of flavour but it lacks the fullness of an Imperial Stout for me, seeming a bit watery at times. On the positive side of things, this is quite drinkable.

Through and through this is a good stout. For a "smoked" imperial stout, I'd like more of the smoked malt influence in there. It does, however, have plenty of sweet chocolaty goodness which I enjoyed. Worth a try but there are plenty of better ones out there.

O - A nice beer which became much better as it moved closer to room temperature. I found as it warmed the flavors really came out, and it found its feet. There is a smokiness there that is nice on a winter night, and it seems appropriate to have by the fire. I would have this beer again, if I could find it.

Opaque black with a dense espresso colored head. Trails and chunks of lace coat the glass on the way down. Plum, raisin, roasted malts in the aroma. Sweet christmas pudding with rum mixes with a dry roastyness and a very light hop profile. The 10+ abv is definitely noticeable, but never a distraction. The mouthfeel is full bodied with a medium carbonation level – very creamy and smooth. Light hops and a vinous maltiness linger for a long time in the finish.

This is a good RIS. Very malty with restrained black malt bitterness and hop aroma. Worth a try for sure, a great winter brew. Dangerous!

Picked up a bottle from the LCBO for just under $6 CDN. Served fairly cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - Jet black beer poured eradicates all light as you try to look through the glass. 1.5 fingers of dark tan head lingers for a while and the head is creamy and voluminous, leaving nice lacing on the side of the glass. Good looking beer.

Smell - Coffee, espresso, anise, licorice and floral undertones as well as a vibrant bitter / sour smell from the hops. Really pleasant.

Taste - Coffee with a faint caramel sweetness, and hoppy bite on the back end and in the aftertaste. Underlying smoke and ash flavors too, but these are mild. Booze is pretty imperceptible. Flavors are big and robust overall.

Mouthfeel - Creamy, smooth, full-bodied. Carbonation is medium -low and the only indication of booze is the warmth in the back of the throat after a few gulps.

Overall - A very fine brew, love the hops mixed in with all the stout flavors in my first foray into this style, but look forward to many more. Definitely would recommend.

(4.25) D: The diverse mix of flavours may be more standard for the style but it's done quite well here resulting in a very drinkable imperial stout. Standout quality is the oaky smoke flavour that lingers on the backend. Very nice.

The peat is stronger in the taste, but still not overly strong. Peat, a bit of smoke, roasted malt, chocolate, anise and some vanilla. Nice flavour, and the peat is a nice addition, but not anything remarkable.

Full bodied, moderate carbonation, fairly slick.

Overall, a good and slightly unusual beer, but nothing that one would need to seek out.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma consists of roasted malt with some notes of dry coffee with light tobacco notes. Taste is also dominated by dry coffee notes with lightly bitter roasted malt with some black chocolate. Body is pretty full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Well brewed overall but lacking a little bit of character to stand out from the mass of imperials stout out there.

I'm not normally a huge fan of smoke beer as generally it's so heavy handed with the smoke. I'm not also a big fan of dark beers with heavy molasses or dark ripe fruit flavors as I find the characteristics to clash. I poured this a bit cold with a small to medium size, tan, foamy head that soon settled to a thin filmy cover with some sudsy islands and good lacing. Color is an opaque black brown. Aroma is old leather, roast malt, molasses, dark ripe fruit, and just a little smoke. Flavor and body is where this beer really stands out and compliment one another. Flavor's a little like nose, but the qualities that I don't like are well muted and behind the roast malt, the perfect amount of smoke, slight malt sweet, the bitter and carbonic tang. Body/carbonation are untoppable. Finish is like flavor, very drinkable, of average length for this style, and almost no indication of alcohol power. Superior beer!